Submarine mine.



J. w. RENO.

SUBMARINE MINE.

APPLICATION men DEC. 1. 1911.

1,288,990. Tatentml Dec. '24, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

J. W. RENO.

SUBMARINE MINE.

APPLICATION m2!) 05c. I. 1917.

Patented Dec. 24, 1918 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

jW/W

TE S

JESSE VT. RENO, OF NEW YGRK, N. Y.

SUBMARINE MINE.

Application filed December 1, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J nss i V. RENO, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, county of New York, and State of New York, haveinvented a new and useful Submarine Mine, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in submarine mines in which a bombis an element to operate in conjunction with a floating spar, and wirerope target of an effective area many times greater than the ordinarysteel hollow sphere mine. The ordinary mine consists of a hollow steelsphere of about thirty inches in diameter, containing the explosive,anchored to a weight resting on the sea bottom, by a wire cable. Theexcess buoyancy of the sphere is suflicient to keep the mine at apredetermined depth below the surface. The mine is usually exploded bycontact with the hull of a ship. This type of mine is most deadly tosurface ships which have a very broad beam and navigate in a fixedhorizon. The submarine, however, with no fixed horizon and having a verynarrow beam is more diflicult to destroy by this means, especially asthe bow wave which accompanies the boat is known to prevent contact.

The object of my invention is to provide a mine for the destruction ofsubmarine boats, which will be more effective than the mines now in use;another object is to provide a mine that can not be pushed aside by thebow wave of the submarine boat; still another object is to provide amine for submarine boats which will not be dangerous to surface ships,which cannot cause an explosion of the mine by contact with the lowerspar which holds the explosive charge in suspension many feet below thesurface ships or in contact with the upper spar, which will be pushedaside or down by the surface boat without causing any pull on thelanyard wires or setting off the boom. A still further object of myimprovement is to provide a mine for submarine boats that is packed in acomparatively small space for transportation, is capable of being easilyand readily handled for transportation and delivery into the sea; isself-setting in the sea; and is of such a character as to be quicklymade and at a comparatively small cost. There are still other objectsgained by my invention which will appear upon its manufacture and use.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 24, 1918.

Serial No. 204,970.

I attain these objects by the device illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1, is a side view of the entire mine fullyextended in all its dimensions, anchored and set ready for submarineboats;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the entire mine, anchored, and in the act ofextending itself to its full dimensions and entire efiective area;

Fig. 8 is a side view of the entire mine, folded or packed ready fortransportation or delivery in the sea or anchored on the bottom of thesea, but at which time, it has not released itself to extend itself, asshown in Figs. 2 and 1;

Fig. fh is a view in cross section of the folded mine shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view in longitudinal section of the bomb and trigger devicefor setting off the bomb;

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the arrangement between the spreader spar,the wires, the trigger and its lanyard.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

By reference to the drawing it will be seen that my invention consistssubstantially of a rectangular shaped target, comprised of an upperbuoyant member or spar, 1, which may be of any suitable length; Icontemplate that a suitable length generally speaking will be aboutfifty feet. There is a lower buoyant member or bomb spar, 2, of aboutthe same length as the upper spar, and

spaced a considerable distance below the upper spar. I conte .iplateallowing a space between the two spars of about fifty feet, generallyspeaking, when the mine target is fully extended. The upper and lowerspars are connected together by two tension cables or wires, 3. The fourmiddle wires, 4, shown as preferably slack, are spaced apart fromeach-other sufliciently to allow the vertical cutwater of a submarineboat to enter between two adjacent wires and thereupon, the hull of theboat acting as a wedge, spread them farther apart from each other, for apurpose that will be presently explained. I have shown joints, 5, in thewires, 3, and st, at or about the middle of their length. I secure tothe upper spar the ends of the wires, 3 and 4, by means of screw eyes,6, threaded into the spar, and to the ends of the lower spar the ends ofthe two end tension wires, 3, by screw eyes, 6, also.

By means of the screw eyes and joints, I am enabled to fold the wiresand pack them and the two spars close together, as shown in Figs. 3 and4 of the drawing. Of course, I do not desire to limit my mine to the useof any particular number of wires or to the use of screw eyes andjoints, as afiording efficient connections and means to secure the wiresto the spars, and allow the wires to be folded and thespars packedclosely together. The lower ends of the wires, at, between the two endtension cables, 3, are secured to the ends, 7, of bell crank levers, 8,pivoted in'the lower spar, 2. The other ends,'9,'of the bell cranklevers are made fast to'the end of lanyardsylO, secured to the ends, 11,ofa trigger-likedevice,'for an ex plosive bomb,12, shown in detail inFig. "5,

r in which there is a firing pin, 18, movable by a coiled spring, l4t,tofire the mine,"held under compression and inert by means of alead"screwthreaded bolt, 15, threaded into one'end of the firing pin,the head of the bolt; beingsecurely held by a keeper, 16, fast onthe-lower spar. The stem, 17, of the bolt is passed through two shearplates,,18, to the free ends, 11, of which the lanyards, 10, areattached, as already described. I also pass through the ends, 11, of theshear plates, lead rivets, 19, into the keeper, 16, which serves toretain the-shear plates against being moved by a pull-on the lanyards,Xcept wherein the strength ofthepull is sufiicient to cause the platesto shear the rivets, 19; and the bolt, 15. The trigger or firingmechanism shown in Fig. 5 may be omitted and any other form of approvedmechanism be used instead, which would cause an explosion and beactuated by the lanyards. I would point out, however, that thearrangement shown can only be set off by a strong pull on the lanyardsdue to the use of the rivets, 19, which are sheared only by a strongpull, say one hundred pounds, at the lanyard. When they are sheared, thebolt, 15, is also severed, allowing the firing pin through the coilspring, 14:, to strike the fulminate cartridge, F. The explosive chargewill be contained in a tube, 20. I" have shown the upper spar and themiddle of the lower spar as hollow, in order to lessen their weight. Ihave secured the bomb tube, 20, to the lower spar by threading it intothe lower spar. To the lower or bomb spar, 2, I secure an anchor, 21, bycables, 22, with joints, 23, at or about their middle length, andconnected at their ends to the spar and anchor, by means of screw eyes,24:. The anchor is adapted to rest on the bed of the ocean, and securethemine at'its location. I have shown the anchor, 21, in the form of apiece of railroad rail; but, of course, the anchor need not be in thatform, so long as it shall accomplish my purpose in my mine. I havealready explained that my submarine wires may be'folded' inoiithemselveg'the I will proceed towires being-jointed in themiddleandfreely connected at their ends to the screw eyes for. this purpose;th'e'spacmg'stnps also serve to prevent the heads -'of-theiscre\'veyesfronr injury. When the parts of the min'ehave been packed -=together, asshown fo'rinstance in Figs-"3 and4, I blnd them togetherin' thatpackedposition" by the-use of lashings,

26. I have shown themas passed around the anchor, 21, or,?specifically,*asshown in Fig.

4:, through'ho'les, 27, inthe' web of the piece of railroad rail, usedin that example-as the anchorformy mine. The free ends-of the lashingsare passed -through"holes,28, in

pieces of canvas orwebbing, 29, and'the free ends, 30, of thewebbing'are passed over the upper spar "and secured to each other by a cement'or other substance, such as glue,

that-ioses its 'adhesiveness'iin water. Upon the InlfiGiITlilSPfiCkGdand bound condition being launched in the'sea from a ship, it

sinks to the bottom,"wtth the anchor rail resting uponthe'sea bed. Aftera sufficient interval of time for the adhesive substance to lose itsadhesiveness in thewater, and allow the spars by their buoyancy to'separate the ends, 30, of the webbing-29, the spars rise in the'sea,tothefull' extent of the wires, which secure themandthefanchor railtogether, as shown in Fig-1 1 of the drawing,

In Fig. '2, I have shown th upper spar, 1, 1n theact of r1s1ng,"l1ftin'g the 'ends'of the Wires, 3 and 4:, with it as it r1ses,'1tbeing the first of the two spars to begin to rise upon It is being freedfrom its bound"position. well-known that the velocity of currents in theocean is much greater nefar'the surface of the sea than atson'ie depth;therefore, in order to reduce the resistance of theupper spar, l, to thecurrents, I make its thick ness as small as'possibl in the'conditions.

It will be understood that the excess buoyancy of the whole apparatusWlll be the same if the buoyancy displacementis divided between theupperand lower spars. If the lower spar has suiiicient buoyancy tosupport the bomb and anchor wires, the upper spar will only need tosupport'the weightof the wires attached to it so thatit will haveconsiderable excess buoyancy which will tend to" keep the apparatusupright"as against the tides It will be observed that my mine is veryportable, and can be readily.

and easily shipped and stored aboard a ship for transportation, and aseasily handled aboard ship, and launched therefrom as conveniently andreadily as the ordinary mine. Because of its compactness, large numbersof my mines can be stored aboard a small ship and carried to thelocations where they are to be set in the sea, and be rapidly andsecretly launched, and allowed to set themselves. They can be launchedfrom a moving ship through a hole in the stern, one mine following inquick succession, so that when they have set themselves in the sea, theywill form a practically continuous barrier as against an enemy submarineboat, and by my mine, harbors, channels or sea spaces can be rapidly andeffectively closed to the entrance or exit of enemy submarines.

The self-setting featur of my invention is very important. I base myopinion of this on actual experiments made under my supervision in oceanwaters with a full size model, which I made containing the essentialfeatures of this invention. In that case, however, it was found verydifficult to set the mine from the surface down by unrolling it from theupper spar, which was supported from the side of a ship. In myexperinient flexible rope cables were wound about a round steel teninches diameter and forty feet long pipe, which formed the upper buoyantspar. There may be circumstances, however, where it would be advisableto set the mine from the surface down, as was done in the test referredto, therefore, I do not wish to be limited in the scope of my presentinvention.

5y reference to Fig. 1 of the drawing, it will be observed that even ifthe cutwater of a submarine boat should take my mine at a very acuteangle, the boat would enter between the vertically disposed Wiresbetween the spars, l and 2, and cause the bomb to explode, and thisaction would be aided by the horizontal rudders on the submarine boatwhich project from its sides at about fifteen feet from the prow of theboat, or if the boat did not enter between the wires, but strike themine a glancing blow, the boat would exert such tension on the wires asto pull the lanyard of the bomb and cause an explosion, in brief, mymine presents an effective target area. for submarines many times largerthan the ordinary Submarine mine, as has already been stated andexplained.

It will be perceived that the form and con struction of my mine are muchsimpler, easier and less costly to manufacture than the ordinaryspherical submarine mine, and that the materials I may use are veryabundant, ordinary and cheap, and professional or skilled labor is notrequired to make it, ship or transport it or set it in the sea, or takeit up from the sea. Rough sawed timber, discarded spars or telegraphpoles and wire, and pieces of old railroad rails, whlch otherwise wouldhave no especial use except for scrap, may be utilized in theconstruction of my mine; consequently large numbers of my mine can bemade at comparatively small cost and quickly set in large numbers in thewaters infested by enemy submarine boats. Their presence would have astrong moral effect upon the crews of enemy submarine boats, thusgreatly restricting the use of that dreadful and ruthless engine ofdestruction.

The operation of my mine is as follows The submarine when submergedusually cruises about fifty feet below the surface and the shape of theforward end of the boat is more or less wedge shaped consequently,assuming that my mine is in its path, the vertical cutwater of the boatwill pass between the adjacent vertical wires, 3, as shown in dottedlines Fig. l, spreading them apart and causing a heavy strain upon thelanyard, 13, thus pulling the trigger and firing the bomb. It iswell-known by experiment that the explosion of say one hundred pounds oftri-nitro toluene within thirty feet of the hull of a submarine boatwill cause such damage to the hull that leaks will start in numerousplaces and the boat will lose its buoyancy and sink. For this reason Ido not consider it necessary to make actual contact with the front ofthe submarine boat as provided in my previous invention, U. S. PatentNo. 1,173,463. If the submarine boat strikes my mine at an angle or aglancing blow, it will displace the wires sufficiently to cause the bombto explode, as already stated.

I claim 1. In a submarine mine for submarine boats, the combination ofan upper, buoyant spar, a lower buoyant spar, adapted to be held in thesea below the upper spar, an explosive bomb connected to the lower spar,a trigger-like firing device for the bomb, tension wires or cablesconnecting the spars together and slack wires fastened to the trigger,the wires being spaced apart from each other to allow the prow of asubmarine boat to enter between them and thrust the wires aside, andthereby effect a pull of the trigger and fire the bomb.

2. In a submarine mine for submarine boats, the combination of twobuoyant spars, adapted when the mine is set in the water to be heldspaced apart from each other, one above the other, an explosive bomb,connected to the lower spar, a trigger-dike firing device for the bomb,wires connecting the spars together and fastened to the trigger, thewires being jointed at about their middle, to enable them to be foldedupon themselves and the spars and wires be packed closely together in abundle, the wires being spaced apart from each other when the mine isset to allow a submarine boat to enter between the wires and thrust themto one side, and thereby to pull the trigger and fire the bomb.

3. In a submarine mine for submarine,

boats, the combination of two buoyant spars, adapted when the mine isset in the water to be held spaced apart from each other, one above theother, an explosive bomb, connected to the lower spar, a trigger-likefiring device from the bomb, wires connecting the spars together andfastened to the trigger, the wires'being jointed at about their middle,to enable them to be folded upon themselves and the spars and wires bepacked closely together in a bundle, the wires being spaced apart fromeach other when the mine is set to allow a submarine boat to enterbetween the wires and thrust them to one-side, and thereby to pull thetrigger and fire the bomb, and means tobind the spars and folded Wirestogether, the said means being self-releasing after the mine is launchedinto the water, to allow the mine to set itself.

4. In a submarine mine for submarine boats, the combination of twobuoyant spars, and an anchor therefor, the spars being,

adapted when the mine isset in the sea to be held spaced apart from eachother and from the anchor, one above the other, an explosive bombattached to the lower one of the two spars, a trigger-hke fir ng device'Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing'the Commissioner of Patents. 7 Washington, D. 0.

5. In a submarine mine for submarine boats, the combination of upper andlower spars, an explosivebom'b carried by the lower spar, a trigger-likefiring device for the bomb, a lanyard therefor, tension wiresconnectingthe spars together and slack Wires between them attached to the lanyard,

safetyrivets to hold the trigger against being pulled except uponthG'IIIOX QmQIIt of the slack wires by a submarine boat against them.

6. In a submarine mine for submarine boats, the combination of upper andlower spa-rs, an explosive bomb carried by the lower spar, atrigger-like firing device for the bomb,"a lanyard therefor, bell cranklevers, pivoted in the lower spar, and having one end connected to thelanyards, wires at the ends of the spars connecting them together andWires intermediate of the ends of the spars, connected to the u, perspar, and to the other ends of the bel crank levers, safety rivets tohold the trigger against being pulled except upon the movement of thewires by a submarine boat against them. In testimony whereof, I havesigned my name to this specificationin the presence of two subscribingWitnesses.

JESSE W. RENO.

Witnesses:

ERNEST L. GALE, Jr., HAZEL R. GATES. V

